SXSW 2013 Preview: MBE Producer Collin Walzak

What I’m about to say may seem blasphemous to some but let me explain:

I’ve never been to South By Southwest. Heck, I’ve never even been to Austin.

I’ve been able to gleam so much from the festival/party/anarchy through aids just like this blog and several other podcasts/instafeeds/live streams that it never felt necessary.

That and I like to experience artists and bands in their natural habitat; a finely crafted hour long set at a singular venue on a tour stop. I don’t like sloppy seconds. I’m not ready to share my band with ten other venues and 100K other listeners through the course of a week. That’s not my steez.

With that being said, there are a few bands whose run at this festival might just be the genesis of some big things so who am I to deny their free lovin’ ways?

The Joy Formidable

Ok, so the Welsh formed band isn’t exactly off the radar these days but they are definitely a little off the grid at sxsw. The heavy-riffed guitars and loud as hell drums want to be fed large stadiums and arenas instead of tightly packed coffee shops. This is why I can’t wait to leave the show dripping in sweat after a week of feasting on Indie-folk-pop dujour in all the other corners of the city.

Boy

A Swedish-German duo whose single “Little Numbers” is just a smash pop hit waiting to happen. The comparisons to Feist have flown around here and there but I’m interested to find out how the rest of their catalogue sounds before we go all iPod commercial-y

Wild Belle

This sibling duo from the Midwest has only released three songs off their debut album which is expected to come out in March but man, they all have the right ingredients. Addictive pop accompanied with hints of Jazz, a sprinkle of Afro-beat and add a dash of Reggae. Bake in the Austin sun for a few days and voila!

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After graduating from the University of Arizona, Collin headed west to Los Angeles with a glint in his eye and a stack of records under his arm. After years of sleeping on the front porch of KCRW, he was finally allowed in the use the restroom. He never left.

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